Fleeting Hearts
by yoiidere
Summary: "You have to believe in me." And I did. I believed in my brother, that he was going to make everything okay. Even though he played tricks, at the end of the day, Jackson was there to hold my hand and make me laugh. Jack's sister's POV.


**AN: Hello, everyone! I was inspired to write this after watching a fanmade video about Jack's past. His younger sister's name was never confirmed, so in order to write this, I had to put it in her perspective. It describes everything before, during, and after the scene showing his memories. I'll be making a continuation/spin-off, but for now, enjoy.**

* * *

We used to play hopscotch everyday, my brother and I. It gave me a sense pride because he taught me the game before any of the other kids my age knew how to do it. For about two weeks, the advantage made me the hopscotch champ in our little group. Even after everyone learned the basics and made the game the most commonly played, it was still my favorite thing to do when I was with them or just by myself.

It was obvious that, as the days passed, my brother was growing tired of the game―not that he'd ever admit it. A tinge of guilt washed over me when I began to notice. After all, he was the older sibling, so it was his responsibility to watch over me and initiate random activities for us to do until the sun set on the horizon.

To be honest, I don't think Jackson had a lot of friends his age. There were times that I'd come back home by myself and see him staring up at the sky, his expression placid, calm. When he caught me watching him, the corners of his mouth curved upward. I'd ask what was on his mind, but he never told me. He didn't share much with me, really: his secrets, his thoughts, or the things he found when he used to leave the house to have some alone time.

Hopscotch was the first thing he ever shared with me. Over time, without noticing, it became my outlet. Whenever he got mad or scolded me for doing something I wasn't supposed to do, I'd run into the woods next to our house and cry until he found me and apologized. Then, as always, we'd play hopscotch, because he knew how much I loved it. Every time we did, it reminded me that Jackson was the best brother a girl could ask for.

The time of day, the game that was decided, the place we ventured off to: none of these factors mattered. As long as my safety was assured, Jackson would take me anywhere and do everything with me.

One day, after making me cry, he told me that my heart was also a part of my safety.

"What do you mean, Jack?" my hoarse voice asked curiously as cold hands wiped the remaining tears in the corners of my eyes.

He ruffled my hair and smiled softly, eyes distant and unreadable.

"It means that your heart needs to be protected, too, not just your body." His right hand slid over his chest, patting the area. "Don't forget that."

It was a fleeting moment; something I never took regard for until much later in life, because I didn't fully understand what Jack was saying. I had to protect my heart? Protect it of what? I simply nodded as if I understood, and, as usual, he played hopscotch with me until I felt better.

Sometimes Mother worried when we were away from the house for too long, but like me, she trusted Jack with everything she had. It was normal for a mother to worry, after all, but despite his frivolous, carefree nature, my brother was a good person, and I think Mother appreciated that about him. But just in case, she reminded us every time we left the house to be careful. Although Jack made us do stupid things like hang on the branches of trees and attempt to slide off step hills on flat, wooden boards, it's not like we ever broke an arm or bled to death or anything. We used to play a lot of reckless games.. at least, until that day.

The memory wasn't a good one.

My hands trembled ever so slightly, my feet restricted of free movement because of the new pair of skates Daddy bought for me the day before. He'd been saving up for months to get matching pairs for both me and Jackson.

Jack taught me many things and always had a story or something worth sharing with everyone. I was proud to call him my brother. But what could _I_ do?

With our matching new skates, I excitingly asked him to take me to the lake a little beyond the town's reach. It was my favorite place to go to whenever I had something on my mind. At night, Jack and I sat next to the lake and stared at the luminous moon overhead, forgetting the frigid atmosphere that was our town of Burgess. It was my idea to skate there some time since the store in town started selling them; Dad had saved up ever since. Jack seemed skeptical about the idea of skating, but he went with it because of how happy I seemed when I talked about what I'd do after we got them.

"None of the other kids tried them out yet," I remember saying to Dad. Then, I turned to my brother with the same enthusiastic expression. "Won't it be fun, Jack?"

A laugh filled the air. Jack bent down until he was at eye level with me and ruffled my hair. "Fun, huh? Sure then, let's try it out."

So there we were, getting ready to go out to my favorite place and try out our new skates for the first time. As usual, Mother told us to be careful with a trusting smile, and, as usual, Jack chuckled and reassured her.

"We will," he replied with a laugh.

Of course, I chuckled, too. Nothing bad ever happened when I was with my brother, and I doubted anything would ever happen just as long as he was by my side.

I was wrong.

o o o

When we reached our destination, Jackson helped me put on my skates, then fixed his pair onto his feet as well. With caution, he stepped onto the ice with the unfamiliar footwear and eased his figure onto the frozen water.

Jackson was a natural. It started off slow, but he seemed to get the rhythm of how to use it in a short period of time. After a minute, he turned to me with a smile. "I think the ice is fine!" he shouted at me, nodding once. "Try it out!"

I stood up, my legs wobbling as I tested the thickness of the ice. I wasn't sure how to use the skates the way Jack did, so I just let them slowly guide me onto the slippery surface. Before I knew it, they brought me to the middle of the lake and stopped completely. I lightly swung my arms from side to side, but the skates' weight kept me in place. With a little more force, I swung again.

_Crack._

I froze.

A lump in my throat formed.

With a gulp, my eyes traced the sound, and there it was; under my left foot, a white crack cut through the frozen lake. My eyes grew wide as I whimpered softly.

"What was that?" I heard Jack ask me, his voice quick with alert.

I whimpered again.

_Crack. Crack._

"Don't move," he said with the same haste.

He skated towards me, but for some reason, I couldn't keep my eyes off the cackling ice beneath my blades.

The sound of my heartbeat was loud in my ears, distracting me from recalling a story I had once heard my friend tell about a girl drowning in this lake. It sent shivers down my spine.

I forced myself to look up, my eyes reaching Jackson's. He was barefoot and on one of his knees, the skates sitting closely behind him. He'd just taken them off, ensuring that they wouldn't add more friction to the ice around me.

"It's okay, it's okay," he repeated twice as if he were trying to convince himself rather than convince me. He glanced down at the cracks and quickly looked back up. "Don't look down. Just look at me."

"Jack," my voice rang in a high pitch tone, "I'm _scared_."

My eyes went back and forth between my brother and the ground before me. Attempting to slide even slightly closer to him made the fissure underneath my feet even bigger, wider.

"I-I-I know, I know," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. He took a step forward, his hands reaching out to me, as his left foot broke the ice even further. Again, he looked down at the newly created slit but shot his attention back at me shortly after. "But you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in." Like me, he checked the ground thoroughly before advancing or saying anything else.

His expression was hard for a second as if he were trying to collect his thoughts. "Uh.. we're gonna have a little fun instead!"

The desperate longing for safety clouded my thoughts. 'Having fun' was the last thing on my mind.

"No, we're not!" I yelled back, my voice almost breaking into a stutter.

In a playful tone, he asked, "Would I trick you?"

"Yes!" I argued holding back tears, recalling all the times he used to prank me when we played together. "You_ always_ play tricks!"

Taking small steps, he moved closer to me. "No," he chuckled quietly. His voice was smaller as he said this, like he was thinking to himself, replaying my statement in his head. I had hurt Jack. I could see it. But he shoved personal feelings away for the time being. "Alright, well.. well, not-not-not this time," his voice shook, trying strongly to convince me. "I promise. I promise you're gonna be.. you're gonna be fine."

His eyes were gentle, soothing. At that moment, I felt like I really _could_ trust that, somehow, we'd be able to get out of this mess. He never let anything happen to me before, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to me now.

But as much as I trusted Jack, I was still scared. Uncertainty held me back from saying anything.

"You have to believe in me."

And I did. I believed in my brother, that he was going to make everything okay. Even though he played tricks, at the end of the day, Jackson was there to hold my hand and make me laugh.

He didn't seem afraid after that. "You wanna play a game?" he asked. His voice was happy, so comforting, like every other day. It almost made me forget where we were. "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play everyday."

As if it were melting away the dislocating feeling in my heart, Jack's words warmed my soul. Everything was going to be alright. After playing hopscotch, Jack and I always came home together. Nothing would change that. Hopscotch was _our_ game.

The corners of my mouth curved upwards as I watched my brother's movements. We were gonna get through this, definitely. Or at least, that's what I thought.

"I-i-it's as easy as, uh, one.."

Picking up his right foot in correspondence to his counting, Jackson started the game. The area his foot landed began to crack effortlessly, but he didn't stop there. He lifted his left foot in the air, flailing his arms around, and pretended he was going to slip. "Woahh!" he exaggerated jokingly. A suppressed laugh slipped through my lips, my body losing prior stiffness.

"Two.."

With confidence that the frozen area he stood on was safe, Jack jumped once more to the side.

"Three!"

Without hesitation, he bent down until a wooden staff laying on the lake was in arm's reach. "Alright," he spoke steadily, picking up the staff. "Now it's your turn."

My smile vanished instantly, the reality of the situation reappearing.

"One.."

I concentrated on the direction I'd move my feet, but the weight of the skates caused my legs to shift awkwardly. I gasped, the fear of falling in rekindling as the lake tore a little.

"That's it, that's it," Jack encouraged. "Two.."

The ice crackled angrily at my blades. I gasped again, glancing at my brother and back at the frigid surface.

"Three!"

He pointed the crooked end of the staff towards me and wrapped my small waist in its curve, pulling me in and tossing me to a thicker section of the lake behind him. "Wahh!" My left shoulder blade hit the hard layer first, then dragged my body further, flipping me a couple times. I landed face down, but aside from the collusion, I wasn't harmed. My hands pressed down on the ice as I lifted my head to find my brother smiling.

I smiled back at him, counting my blessings as we exchanged relieved expressions. And that's when it happened.

The surface under Jack caved in, the powerful friction creating a loud, unforgettable sound, and forced my brother into the glacial waters below.

"Jack!"

My hand extended forward, my vision blurring from the overflow of tears building up in my eyes.

I knew I could trust Jack with my life. Without him, nothing would be the same. No matter what happened, no matter what was in the way, he'd been there to catch my fall and care for me when I was weak.

My hands shook.

"Jack.."

Legs trembled.

"Jackson.. no.."

Lips quivered.

"JACKSON!"

He wasn't going to save me anymore. He'd sacrificed himself for me for the last time.

I loved him.

And now he was gone.

o o o

It's been a year since my brother's death; a year since a smile brushed upon my delicate face. Motionlessly, I stood before the taker of my brother's life. I bent down to touch the lake, it's surface still just as cold and harsh as it had been that unfortunate day, my mind recalling unwelcomed memories.

My arms shivered, my right hand clutching the fabric covering my chest.

"I understand now, Jack," I whispered to the ice, tears rolling down my cheeks over and over again. "I understand what you meant when you told me to protect my heart." I choked out the last word, uneven sobs now filling gaps in between my words. "But I can't do it. Not without you.. not without.."

Before I could finish my sentence, something glistened off the lake. Immediately, my focus was on the strange glow, but as I scanned the area, nothing was there. The only thing on the lake, just in the center, lay a long, wooden staff.

My body dropped to the ground, my face taken in by the palms of my hands, as my cry filled the night air.

"I'm so sorry, Jack."


End file.
